Columbus, Ohio's Equal Business Opportunity Code required that minority- and women-owned subcontractors receive set percentages (21% and 10%) of city construction dollars. A federal court struck down the program, ruling that Columbus failed to prove past discrimination in its contracting practices. The decision means cities cannot impose race- or gender-based contracting preferences without solid evidence that discrimination actually occurred in their procurement history.
Cities must document specific, measurable evidence of past discrimination before imposing minority or women-owned business set-asides—population demographics alone don't justify preferences